The Scott Mitchell Mysteries Series

A private investigator stumbles upon the body of a female singer in this mystery from an author praised by Elmore Leonard for his “clean and simple” prose. When Scott Mitchell loved Candi Carter, her name was just plain Ann. Back then she was a hippie, playing tambourine in some no-name band. Now she’s the most famous singer in Britain, and she has plans to conquer America next—but first she needs her old friend’s help. And when the famed songbird asks Mitchell to come down to her house in Nottingham, he can’t refuse, even though the sound of her voice makes him feel like his heart is breaking all over again. He pulls himself out of an alcoholic haze, takes the train from London, and stumbles right into a murder scene.   Mitchell finds Carter dead in her living room, a trickle of blood coming from her mouth and a bullet in her chest. Her body is still warm. But before he can get out of there, he’s blackjacked, and when he comes to, he’s picked up by a pair of cops who beat him senseless and drag him to the nearest cell. Mitchell is having a hell of a day—and things will only get worse from here.   First published in 1976, this is the debut novel of John Harvey, who would go on to create the legendary hardboiled Charlie Resnick Mysteries. Harvey’s first crack at transplanting the kind of tough-talking American PI of Raymond Chandler and John D. MacDonald to the United Kingdom works beautifully. Scott Mitchell isn’t just the toughest detective in Britain—he’s also the best.   Amphetamines and Pearls is the 1st book in the Scott Mitchell Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The final entry in the groundbreaking series of hardboiled British mysteries starring Scott Mitchell, the toughest detective to ever call London home. The ledge isn’t quite wide enough for Scott Mitchell to stand, but he’ll have to make it work. He keeps his balance just long enough to get a few quick snaps of the motel room opposite, where a client’s wife is enjoying a spirited act of adultery and has no idea that she’s been caught on film. It’s sleazy work, but anything that keeps Mitchell’s wallet fat and his hide safe is fine by him. But he took this case because it carried not a hint of danger—so why is somebody trying to kill him? The West Indian man bursts into Mitchell’s office threatening to tear him apart. Mitchell talks him down before the man is able to break any limbs—or, God forbid, his camera—but he still hasn’t got a clue who the intruder is, or how he’s tied up in the adultery case. And when this simple bit of divorce work goes from quick and easy to slow and deadly, Mitchell will have to move fast if he wants to stay alive. The final novel in the series that brought the American hardboiled style to Britain, Neon Madman is perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler and John D. MacDonald. Scott Mitchell was one of the first hardboiled British private investigators, and he remains the best. Neon Madman is the 4th book in the Scott Mitchell Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Scott Mitchell, Britain’s toughest private eye, finds himself marked for murder in this gritty hardboiled mystery. In a freezing London flat, Scott Mitchell fights to stay warm. His thermos is empty and his hands are numb, but he keeps his vigil for the best reason in the world: He needs the money. A sleazy developer hired him to keep track of the comings and goings in the building across the road, but after too many hours of inactivity, Mitchell decides to do something unorthodox. He goes across the street and lets himself inside. It’s the worst decision he’ll ever make. Mitchell has just stepped inside when a blackjack cracks him across the skull, and he crashes to the floor. When he comes to, he finds a photo of a beautiful woman—and a dead girl lying on the bed. Mitchell has fallen face-first into a murder scene, and it won’t be long before he’s wishing he’d frozen instead. A hardboiled mystery in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and John D. MacDonald, Junkyard Angel grips readers from the first page and doesn’t let go. From the creator of legendary detective Charlie Resnick, the Scott Mitchell Mysteries give us the toughest private eye to ever walk the streets of London. Junkyard Angel is the 3rd book in the Scott Mitchell Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Scott Mitchell, the toughest private detective in England, is about to find that kidnapping and murder go hand in hand in this classic hardboiled mystery. Even over the telephone, Scott Mitchell can tell the caller is more beautiful than any woman he’s ever met. Her name is Stephanie Miller, and from the tremor in her voice, it sounds like a matter of life and death. Miss Miller works for Crosby Blake, one of the most powerful, and dangerous, men in London. Blake’s niece, Cathy, is missing, and it will take a ruthless private detective to find her—and Mitchell is as ruthless as they come. On the night she disappeared, Cathy came home at 10:30 and went straight to bed. The next morning, her room was empty, as if she’d simply disappeared. Soon, the phone rang, and a muffled voice demanded £20,000 in small bills and utter discretion. If anyone muttered one word to the police, Cathy would be dead. That’s when it becomes Mitchell’s problem. To bring her back safely, he’ll have to untangle a web of deadly lies that threaten to bind him tighter with every question he asks. Written in the tradition of classic private-eye novels like Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep and Ross Macdonald’s The Way Some People Die, The Geranium Kiss is as hardboiled as they come. The Geranium Kiss is the 2nd book in the Scott Mitchell Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.